Kansas Jayhawks vs Duke Blue Devils Match Player Stats On Nov 05, 2019

Tre Jones scored 15 points, including four free throws in the final 30 seconds, as No. 4 Duke came back to defeat No. 3 Kansas 68-66 in the season opener for both teams Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Duke, which had a starting lineup that included three freshmen, benefitted from production by players in their debuts. Cassius Stanley scored 13 points, and Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey Jr. both provided 11 points.

Stanley converted a go-ahead three-point play at the 2:29 mark, and the Blue Devils led the rest of the way.

Kansas' Devon Dotson, who finished with 17 points, made a 3-pointer at the final buzzer.

The Jayhawks, who were intent on pushing the ball inside, committed 27 turnovers. Ochai Agbaji scored 15 points for Kansas, and Marcus Garrett added 12.

Duke was charged with 16 turnovers and overcame Kansas' 41-29 rebounding advantage. Jayhawks forward David McCormack pulled down a game-high 13 boards.

Kansas went on a 14-0 run to build a 46-37 lead with 14:35 to play. Once Duke caught up, there were some back-and-forth sequences.

After a Kansas turnover, Duke stretched its lead to 66-63 on two Jones free throws at the 26-second mark.

Duke led 33-30 at halftime, largely aided by 18 first-half turnovers by the Jayhawks. The Blue Devils shot 37.1 percent in the first half.

Kansas had 11 turnovers in the first 13 minutes, offsetting some of the team's solid early shooting.

Duke's Alex O'Connell scored seven points during a first-half stretch, helping the Blue Devils to a 25-22 lead. He ended up with nine points.

The Blue Devils won their 20th consecutive season opener while improving to 33-18 (.647) all-time in top-5 matchups under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Kansas won the three most recent meetings with Duke, including the 2018 NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional final in overtime.

The game was part of the Champions Classic, with No. 1 Michigan State and No. 2 Kentucky meeting in the nightcap.

--Field Level Media